New shadow Welsh secretary says Labour’s Port Talbot deal ‘identical’ to Tories’

Newly-appointed shadow Welsh secretary Mims Davies has described Labour’s Port Talbot steelworks deal as “identical” to the previous Tory government’s.

The Conservative former minister said the money for the deal “had been sitting there the whole time” and it was “ludicrous” of the Government to claim otherwise.

Meanwhile, Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said the Tories owe the people of Port Talbot an apology for “failing to deliver a single penny”.

Traditional steel production ceased in Port Talbot in September, with thousands of workers losing their jobs.

Transition phase

The Tata Steel plant will enter a transition phase until 2027, when steelmaking will resume through the electric arc furnace, part-funded by a £500 million grant from the UK Government.

Nearly 2,000 jobs will be lost as a result of the transition. The Government has said about 500 jobs are expected to be available during the construction of the electric arc furnace.

In her first contribution in the role, Ms Davies said: “The Secretary of State very clearly needs to acknowledge to this House that the deal for Tata Steel, recently re-announced by her UK Government, is, frankly, identical to the one negotiated by (Kemi Badenoch), now the leader of the Opposition.”

Ms Stevens replied: “I think (Ms Davies) needs to read the deal reached by this Government. The £1.25 billion transformation project at Port Talbot will deliver a state-of-the-art electric furnace, the contract for which has just been signed.

“In just under 10 weeks, without providing any additional funding beyond the £500 million previously announced, we delivered a better deal. It secures the immediate future of Port Talbot, lays the foundations for future investment, and enhanced protections for the workforce.”

Delighted

Ms Davies then said: “Delighted (Ms Stevens) read the deal that we wrote, but the facts are simple, despite the protesting, this is the same deal as previously negotiated by the last Conservative government, involving the same amount of money to build the electric arc furnace, the same cash for that transition board.

“It’s ludicrous, frankly, for her or others to continue to claim there was no support in place and that it has somehow appeared that she found it down the back of the sofa.

“She’s fully aware the cash had been sitting there the whole time. Perhaps an apology is needed?”

Ms Stevens replied: “I think if an apology is due, it’s due to the people of Port Talbot, for promising £80 million for a transition board that operated, I think, for nine months under the previous secretary of state for Wales, and delivered not a single penny to the people of Port Talbot.”

The newly-appointed shadow minister was congratulated by Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville Roberts for “taking one for the team” after taking the role.

Trade agreement 

Elsewhere during Wales questions in the Commons, Liberal Democrat MP Clive Jones (Wokingham) urged the Government to review the Australia and New Zealand trade agreement, and “get it right for our farming communities”.

Wales Office minister Dame Nia Griffith said: “He knows as well as I do that the new leader of the Opposition is the one who sold our farmers down the river, negotiating deals with countries like Australia, leaving our farmers open to increasing quotas of imported meat.

“I can assure him that this Government is committed to promoting robust standards nationally and internationally, to protect consumer interests and to ensure that consumers have confidence in the food that they can buy.

“We will consider a full range of tolls at our disposal to uphold the UK’s commitment to high standards. This includes using our influence in the World Trade Organisation and other multilateral bodies to argue for better and fairer trading rules.”